Help me...I feel truly overwhelmed now.

[LisaKinVA]

I have had the normal amount of concern and worry as we stepped into highschool, but now we are here.  I'm sitting here trying to schedule out a 9th grade English Course, trying to make up course descriptions, looking at samples, researching on-line and looking at samples.  All of a sudden, I am terrified.  What in the world am I doing?  How am I going to get through this?  How in the world was all of THAT accomplished? I was a humanities girl.  I've always been confident in being able to shepherd my kids through this, and now I feel completely inadequate.

 

Math and Science seem so much more straight forward -- even History isn't giving me fits.  But English???  Literature???  I'm lost and overwhelmed by it all.  Online classes are out (for now). The time differences are just too much -- and the cost can't be absorbed at this time.  So, I'm pretty much on my own. 

 

Please look at what I'm trying to plan and tell me if this looks good for a Freshman.  This child is very bright, but a slower-more methodical reader (he reads like his dad).  He has more of a science/math bent.  

 

9th: 

 

English:  

 

Grammar -- Abeka Grammar 10 (NOT writing); Abeka Vocabulary/Poetry 10

Composition -- Writing w/Skill 2

Literature  Abeka World Literature (selections only, mostly poetry and Poe); The Great Gatsby, A Tale of Two Cities,Frankenstein, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1984, Death of a Salesman, Little Women, Old Man and the Sea, A Doll's House, Alice's Adventure in Wonderland, Animal Farm, David Copperfield, Frankenstein, Great Expectations, The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds,  To Kill a Mockingbird, Grapes of Wrath, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, The Hiding Place, Mere Christianity, Sergeant York, Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity, and Alas Bablylon

 

The focus is primarily on 20th century World Literature, although I know a few of these don't fall strictly into this category.  Only about 8-10 of the books I listed would require a paper or deeper study.  I will be using some Progeny Press Guides (are there others?  Yes, I will need answers...) I also plan to employ TWEM using sections as we go.  

 

History:  Modern World History (mainly 20th Century) using K12's Human Odyssey vol. 3 as a spine, Teaching Company Lectures:  20th Century Struggle with Democracy & WW2 a Military & Social History, plus Mein Kampf, The Communist Manifesto, The Great Crash, The Longest Day, All the President's Men, The War of the Atom, The Eagle and the Lion.  1 weekly paper, plus 2 longer 5 page papers at the end of each semester.  Geography is included (mostly Shephered Software, and possibly Visual Geography when I can purchase it).

 

Math:  Algebra 2/Trigonometry (Phil4 with Foerster's Algebra 2/Trigonometry & Math w/o Borders & Khan Academy)

 

Science:  Physics (Phil4 w/ high school text, Khan Academy)

 

Foreign Languages:  Russian (5 Elements w/tutor, some resources online); Italian (with family & tutor)

 

Electives: Typing (finishing up), CLE Light Units for Computer Basics & Technical Drawing, and finishing up God & the History of Art,

 

Health & PE (Health will actually be taken during the summer, Abeka), PE is done throughout the year and is a combination of competitive Swimming, Dry Land Training, & Personal Fitness at home, plus some group activities with the other homeschoolers.

 

Lastly -- here is what I'm looking toward for English in the following years (because there are obviously MORE great books that my son could read...)

 

10th -- Studying Western Civ; World Literature Studies (Including Don Quixote, The Pilgrim's Progress, Gulliver's Travels, Pride & Predjudice, more Dickens, Jane Eyre, Crime & Punishment, Anna Karenina, some Shakesspeare

11th -- American Literature (Great American Literature through the ages...I know Scarlet Letter will be included here, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Malcom X, Booker T. Washington, A Separate Peace...)

12th -- Not sure what to call it -- we'll be studying US Gov't/Constitutional Law during this year...maybe I should just continue with more great Literature from the world?  I do plan to include Lord of the Flies this year.

 

I've heard I should probably get Figuratively Speaking -- and I am looking into the possibility of some DE through one of the colleges serving the military & deployed civilians here.

 

What I'm trying to come up with, is how to best schedule the books... and course description that sounds good.  I'm pretty sure we're covering more than enough for a solid credit of English.  If there are books I should move into other years -- if it's better to focus studies on genre/author -- and I know I need to also keep a book list of all the books he reads that aren't part of his school work.

[8filltheheart]

Lisa,

 

Don't overthink this, nor do you need to replicate what you think you see in schools. What you have listed is way more than the vast majority of top honors students are doing. I stopped counting novels at 20 for lit. Then you have heavy works listed for history with a paper/week. And all of that for a science/math guy. It is more than my math/science guys do.

 

To give you an alternative approach, my ds that just graduated had totally non-standard lit classes. He had one class I designed around the movie Inception. I found this post where I described the process: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/475101-how-to-build-an-english-course/?p=4995197

 

I am more of a let's dig deep into what we are reading type of teacher. We can spend hours researching allusions, spend time on rabbit trails for where those lead us, etc. For example, we spent 6-7 weeks in 11th on Paradise Lost. It was slow going, but we loved every minute of it. If you ask ds his favorite work from high school, he says PL.

[LisaKinVA]

Lisa,

 

Don't overthink this, nor do you need to replicate what you think you see in schools. What you have listed is way more than the vast majority of top honors students are doing. I stopped counting novels at 20 for lit. Then you have heavy works listed for history with a paper/week. And all of that for a science/math guy. It is more than my math/science guys do.

 

To give you an alternative approach, my ds that just graduated had totally non-standard lit classes. He had one class I designed around the movie Inception. I found this post where I described the process: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/475101-how-to-build-an-english-course/?p=4995197

 

I am more of a let's dig deep into what we are reading type of teacher. We can spend hours researching allusions, spend time on rabbit trails for where those lead us, etc. For example, we spent 6-7 weeks in 11th on Paradise Lost. It was slow going, but we loved every minute of it. If you ask ds his favorite work from high school, he says PL.

 

I probably am overthinking it... FWIW, many of the books will be listened to via audio (he can listen as we go back and forth to swimming, on the road to meets, etc.)  I'm not sure if we'll be doing 100% of the meatier texts for history -- or if we'll only do selected portions.  I'm still working through it.  I do intend to use some movie versions (after he completes the books), as a comparison-contrast exercise, but I don't want him to focus on literary criticism.  I need the focus of this year to be mainly reading/comprehending and beginning to really explore/understand literary devices; how to read a novel/history/autobiography/poem.  I'm a bit late to the ball game here -- but we're 2 months from finishing last year, so I'm getting there.  There are just too many books I feel like he *needs* to read!  UGH.  

 

I also want there to be a purpose for doing things...

10th grade will most likely have a very light review of grammar, and vocabulary only from literature he's reading, or SAT prep.  Quite a few Essay prompts.

11th grade will be mostly composition & Literature 

12th grade will be a Senior Thesis & Literature

 

While he is more of a math & science guy, he writes fan fiction in his own time.  So, giving him more reading, and helping to further develop his writing isn't a bad thing.  I don't assign any creative writing...The paper a week is more of a narration (summarizing what he read during the week).  We're supposed to have daily discussions over his history reading -- but I want him to write about the one thing each week that stands out and why (loved it, hated it, found intriguing, etc.).  He's an average writer -- but I know he can do better.  We just need to formalize some work on writing/editing/re-writing (and that won't be in history).

[LisaKinVA]

More Random Thoughts...

 

I thought about doing a study of Dystopian Literature his senior year...this would include several of the books I listed from this year, and give good experience with the genre.  Maybe not a whole YEAR of dystopian lit, but a semester anyhow.  Then we could do a semester on the Hobbit, etc. and some other fantasy.  There is also no reason to do some of these books this year vs. during our American Lit study during 11th grade.  

 

So, that would be

 

9th -- Modern World Literature

10th-- Great Literature from Western Civilization (mainly English, French & Russian)

11th -- American Literature

12th -- Dystopian Literature (.5) and Fantasy (.5)

 

Does this progression sound good (on it's face...obviously, there needs to be a bit of fleshing out)?  I feel like if I can narrow the focus a bit, that might help me better put things into categories vs. scatter shot.  I do need to get this year nailed down -- but maybe I should work out an overall plan for literature to help me not put too much into one year (because I don't want to forget something!)

 

 

[regentrude]

More Random Thoughts...

 

I thought about doing a study of Dystopian Literature his senior year...this would include several of the books I listed from this year, and give good experience with the genre.  Maybe not a whole YEAR of dystopian lit, but a semester anyhow.  Then we could do a semester on the Hobbit, etc. and some other fantasy.  There is also no reason to do some of these books this year vs. during our American Lit study during 11th grade.  

 

So, that would be

 

9th -- Modern World Literature

10th-- Great Literature from Western Civilization (mainly English, French & Russian)

11th -- American Literature

12th -- Dystopian Literature (.5) and Fantasy (.5)

 

Does this progression sound good (on it's face...obviously, there needs to be a bit of fleshing out)?  I feel like if I can narrow the focus a bit, that might help me better put things into categories vs. scatter shot.  I do need to get this year nailed down -- but maybe I should work out an overall plan for literature to help me not put too much into one year (because I don't want to forget something!)

 

Sounds good, but don't plan too hard. The best laid plans of mice and men...

I had lit and history all figured out - then DD developed specific literary interests and ended up unschooling English for 11th grade (and taking classes for 12th). I created a course description after the fact and found the common thread that tied together her literary selections.

I don't think it matters much what you read when :-)

It felt very limiting trying to stay too close to the chosen overarching theme. For example,  if my student wants to study magical realism and Garcia Marquez, or the British Romantic poets, during the year I had planned to cover "1600-1900" , I do not quite see what benefit would be obtained from insisting on staying within the confines of the plan.

[8filltheheart]

It is impossible to cover everything.   There are just too many great selections.   You also do not need to do American lit, British lit, World lit.   You can do whatever you want.   The main concern is to make sure you cover appropriate literary themes.  For example, for one of ds's lit classes in the course descriptions I wrote that we focused on the conflict theme of man vs. self b/c it was the theme that tied our lit selections together (no other category was necessary). 

[klmama]

I'm a humanities gal with humanities kids, and I feel exhausted just reading your list. It's too much, too soon for a slow reader. 

Your 9th grader needs a strong foundation to carry him through high school and into college. Build the foundation. Freshman year he needs to focus on developing his writing skills.  Unless he's already a really strong writer, I would only expect a finished paper every two or three or four weeks, not every week in just one class that also includes heavy reading.  If he turns in a paper every week, he won't have time to work on developing it and polishing it.  Give him time to write and to rewrite.  As for what books to read, of your original list these are the ones I would keep for him to read as a freshman for modern lit:

A Tale of Two Cities, Frankenstein, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Old Man and the Sea, Animal Farm, The War of the Worlds, To Kill a Mockingbird, Fahrenheit 451, The Hiding Place, and Mere Christianity.  You could cut this further, if time gets short.  

 

I would add the rest of the books into their appropriate courses - world lit, US lit, British lit. 

 

As for the history course, are you planning on time for lectures to happen during car trips?  If not, it looks to me like it will take at least 2 hours daily at home to cover all that. That's not a problem if he has the time, but he may want as much time as possible to focus more on his math and science.

 

I wish you the best as you decide what to do!

 

[rwjx2khsmj]

When I review what I've planned for my DC I find it helpful to ask myself, "Am I encouraging life long learning or am I trying to make sure they learn it all now?" Since my goal is to foster life long learning, when I find myself packing it in I try to take a step back and remind myself that I don't have to be in a rush.

[FloridaLisa]

Lisa,

 

I think there might be two reasons you are feeling overwhelmed: first, the 9th grade list of 26 novels is pretty overwhelming!  That would be too much in our home, especially given the other challenging academics. Even if some are audio books.  I'd cut the list to about 8. And I'll put a vote in for whole books rather than selections. I don't remember one selection we read in 10th grade American Lit but I sure do remember the whole books we read in 9th grade honors English. I'd probably also only assign fewer papers for the year. 

 

Second, you might also be overwhelmed because you're trying to plan all four years right now.  In a way, that's a good thing but I'd write it in pencil and then set it aside.  Don't microplan at this point.  Sometime in January or February, you can consider what's working this year and what you'd like to change for next year. 

 

It always feels so serious when you're schooling your first one through high school. And it is, but. While content starts to take the spotlight in high school, skill is still super important So reading fewer books but reading them well and experiencing them fully is better, IMO, than racing through a huge list.

 

You're gonna do fine.  You've got them this far, right? :)

Lisa

[butterfly113]

I have had the normal amount of concern and worry as we stepped into highschool, but now we are here. I'm sitting here trying to schedule out a 9th grade English Course, trying to make up course descriptions, looking at samples, researching on-line and looking at samples. All of a sudden, I am terrified. What in the world am I doing? How am I going to get through this? How in the world was all of THAT accomplished? I was a humanities girl. I've always been confident in being able to shepherd my kids through this, and now I feel inadequate.

 

I don't have any advice or suggestions, but am pretty confident you climbed inside my head. I could have written the above. Verbatim. I was working on the same thing last night... Planning out our English course for 9th, looking ahead and mapping out the rest of high school English... As well as reviewing the overall plan I have for this year and the next four. It's overwhelming, but exciting. The moment I woke up this morning I burst into tears, which is not like me at all. My husband asked me what was wrong and I just couldn't even find the words... After a few minutes I pulled it together, got up and am determined to put one foot in front of the other, day after day.

 

So thank you for sharing and hugs to you. And thank you to all of these wonderful ladies (and gents) of the hive. I needed this post today!

[EKS]

For some perspective, at my son's "rigorous" private school, they read four novel length works per year. No short stories and maybe five poems. No grammar. Four essays. But they were very big on vocabulary for some reason. This was for 10th grade.

[mamato4]

 But they were very big on vocabulary for some reason. This was for 10th grade.

 

The vocabulary is for the SAT, as we've been told.

[JanetC]

It's not just English and History that are overbooked.  Why do you need three curricula for Algebra II and two for Physics?  Pick one for each subject as a spine, and only open the others if you are completely lost by the way your "spine" explains things.

 

Why are you doing two foreign languages?  Do these tutors come to your house, or is travel time involved? 

 

Add up how many hours of reading, videos, tutor appointments, etc. you have, and divide by the number of school weeks.  There cannot possibly be enough hours in the day to do all this.
 

Plan on 10% margin for "at home" time -- There is no way that you will be able to use your school hours with 100% efficiency.

 

Plan on a whopping 50% margin or more for "we'll do this in the car" or other "in between" times.

 

Allow for "downtime" too.

 

How many hours per week can you realistically do school?  OK, now how many of those hours are for English?  OK, time to cut the reading list.

 

--Janet

[PeterPan]

Like the others, I'm going to say you're scheduling too much, which is why your list feels impossible.  ;)  I thought I was practical last year, but I've been even MORE brutal this year, chopping and chopping and chopping ideas till what is on the syllabus ACTUALLY FITS in 150-160 sessions.  If it doesn't, I CHOP.  

 

Like Regentrude said, when you do too much formally, you kill all their leftover energy to do their own thing.  Since he seems to drive his own thing on some of the subjects, personally I'd use that as permission not to supplant him.  On the english, I would put the WWS2 into the schedule for first semester, only write history papers 2nd semester (using the skills from WWS2!), drop the english papers entirely because you don't have a vision for them that is worth anything, and have him keep a reading log.  Then in 10th look at your figuratively speaking and literary analysis one semester while doing WWS3 the other semester.

 

That is sane.

[Laurel-in-CA]

Too much reading. Way too much. Maybe 1st semester could focus on shorter works but more grammar/writing practice and then two to three novels in the 2nd semester of english along with (perhaps) How to Read Literature Like a Professor and one or two 2-page papers on aspects of one or two of the novels. Movies for fun, not academics.

 

History - you may want to just do brief excerpts to go along with history - a page or two from each work. Those are hard to select but a smaller sample would give you time to pick them apart and really discuss the essential idea of each selection. I would suggest biographical summaries of important people or summaries of a particular set of ideas and its historical/political impact for history. Depending on your son, one week for choosing & research and one week for write/rewrite? More as it gets easier.

 

If you're traveling a lot and listening to audio books, you're not wanting him to do *anything else* (like math/foreign language homework) while driving, right? That's a lot of time taken out of other studies. What's left after all the travel, and how much energy will your student have left for concentrated work? Or do you want to try and have some discussion time while on the road, with a captive audience, LOL? Something to think about. It's better to assign much less and have it *get done* than to assign a lot and feel continually stressed and pressured and hate the process.

[Harriet Vane]

Just a couple thoughts.

 

Plan to do 12-15 "units." A unit can be a novel or a selection of short stories or poetry or prose.

 

I usually plan a poetry unit to be only one week, two if you include a poetry analysis paper sometime in the year.

 

Plan for your student to read 75-125 pages per week depending upon the complexity of the work. I usually plan more like 150 for my daughter, who is strong with language arts and a fast reader. For the classes I teach, though, I find that most students are more comfortable maxing out at 125.

 

With this page count, most books are done in 2-3 weeks.

 

With that in mind, pare down your literature list.

 

On a more random note, plan to read only a section or two of Mein Kampf. It is sheer, ranting lunacy. Just a short section gives you the idea. I applaud your inclusion of the Communist Manifesto as well. That one is short and do-able, and gives real insight into the philosophical base. Comparing its utopian ideals with its violent and controlling implementation throughout history is a good exercise.

 

Finally, please don't devote a whole year or even a whole semester to dystopian literature. I'd rather scratch my own eyes out. You'll be suicidal by semester's end. (I'm only half joking.) There are books well worth studying in the genre, but choose carefully and don't spend that much time wallowing in the depths of dystopian unhappiness.

[LisaKinVA]

Okay...too much, too much. But I definitely feel that 4 novel-length books aren't enough. I'm not entirely sure what time we spent in Honors English, but I can say I wasn't challenged in the least. Perhaps we assign 6, do a unit on poetry, and then I put the rest of my "wish list" onto a recommended reading list for him to peruse in his spare time -- he always seems to have plenty of spare time.

 

For history, the K12 text is very light. It needs more. In one hour a day, the book would be finished within the month...easy. The lectures are 30 minutes each, and we probably won't do every lecture (I'm still looking through them). We have two 30-minute round trips every day from now until February (one way would be lecture or audio book, way home would be whatever. We have several much longer trips in October, November, December, January and February. Our travel time disappears in March except for about 2, 2 hour round trips a month. I'm not sure if we'll have a spring sport or not yet.

 

When I say he's a slow reader...that should be comparatively. I know that I'm an extremely fast reader by comparison. DS has no issues not finishing work in a timely manner (when he focuses on it), has never run out of time on a standardized test (usually finishes early) -- he's just not like me and DD (12). For example, I can read/comprehend a book like Pride & Prejudice in about 5-6 hours. LegoManiac would take 7-8. There are books I planned to study (read through 1x for enjoyment, and then the second time slow way down and go through 2-3 chapters a week looking at literary devices, word choice, plot development, etc.) While we're using class time to really work through a book over 1-3 weeks, DS could easily read another book or two that we DON'T discuss at. all.....well more than my asking him what he thought about the book.

 

DS can write papers -- I don't think four 1-2 page papers in English that he works through the whole process of writing/editing/re-writing is too much as a 9th grader. I did quite a bit more in Honors English (THAT, I remember...2 long papers, and at least 6 shorter papers in English...but again, my honors English courses were not challenging in the least). In history, I had one 1-2-page paper due a month one Trimester my Freshman year. I remember that class, because that was the first time I was really praised for my writing). My sophomore year my history course had a paper a week, some written in-class, longer ones outside of class. I wasn't planning on much of a formal process for history this year -- just basic narrations really -- nothing we were going to edit and re-write. Most days would be a simple discussion. I was planning two longer papers -- more of an introduction to a research paper other than 2 longer papers. He's not outlining the text -- just reading/lectures. This is more or less what we did in 8th grade (minus the 2 longer papers). He banged out a weekly narration-type exercise in about 30 minutes. I made him read it out-loud, check basic grammar/structure -- only minor edits were necessary. I haven't spent time really delving into that subject yet, but once I start really planning it out over the weekend, I'll get a better feel for what is coming and how much time he's really going to need (and can therefore chop). We'll be heading to Austria and Germany for a week before Christmas -- I expect we'll get through a lot (if not all) of the WW2 lectures by that time. He's an "average" writer. We haven't pushed much writing in the last few years (Killgallon, WWS1). I meant to do more last year, but certain things wound up being in storage until May :p -- so we're a bit behind where we'd like to be for him. He has the potential to be a really good writer (beyond competent anyhow).

 

FWIW, the "extra" books/Khan Academy are supplemental. Right now, he's finishing a week's worth of Algebra 2 work in 2 hours....I don't think he's stressed over it. He's moving at the pace of the class, so the Khan Academy and Foerster's are supplemental -- not doing 2 full-blown courses. Physics takes a bit longer...he finishes the week's work in 3 days. The text used in the class is on-line, I prefer having an actual book on hand (internet isn't always available), and having a back-up resource is never a bad thing imo. We're still finding our feet with these classes -- and I'm willing to back off on the supplemental work if he shows he's really getting it (experience talking here).

 

I'll keep reading and re-reading the suggestions here, chopping as needed as I start to really plan this course. I hope to have it clearly outlined by Friday, though because I need to start working on history...I still have work to do on the other kids' lesson plans (I don't normally need to do this much, but since we're operating on a shoestring...I'm using resources I have on-hand, but really haven't done before).

 

 

[Maddysmom26]

I don't have any advice or suggestions, but am pretty confident you climbed inside my head. I could have written the above. Verbatim. I was working on the same thing last night... Planning out our English course for 9th, looking ahead and mapping out the rest of high school English... As well as reviewing the overall plan I have for this year and the next four. It's overwhelming, but exciting. The moment I woke up this morning I burst into tears, which is not like me at all. My husband asked me what was wrong and I just couldn't even find the words... After a few minutes I pulled it together, got up and am determined to put one foot in front of the other, day after day.

 

So thank you for sharing and hugs to you. And thank you to all of these wonderful ladies (and gents) of the hive. I needed this post today!

 

Right there along side both of you !  Yesterday was rough, today was better. Some moments there are no words, other times I say, I've got this!   So hugs to you both and thank you for your posts & yes thank you everyone here!! Your support is beyond appreciated!!

[Harriet Vane]

9th: 

 

English:  

Literature  Abeka World Literature (selections only, mostly poetry and Poe); The Great Gatsby, A Tale of Two Cities,Frankenstein, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1984, Death of a Salesman, Little Women, Old Man and the Sea, A Doll's House, Alice's Adventure in Wonderland, Animal Farm, David Copperfield, Frankenstein, Great Expectations, The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds,  To Kill a Mockingbird, Grapes of Wrath, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, The Hiding Place, Mere Christianity, Sergeant York, Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity, and Alas Bablylon

 

The focus is primarily on 20th century World Literature, although I know a few of these don't fall strictly into this category.  Only about 8-10 of the books I listed would require a paper or deeper study.  I will be using some Progeny Press Guides (are there others?  Yes, I will need answers...) I also plan to employ TWEM using sections as we go.  

 

 

You are right--four novels isn't really enough in a year. Here is the list that I did with my dd and a group of high schoolers:

 

Modern Literature

· North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell

· Walden, by Henry David Thoreau            (selections)

· O Pioneers, by Willa Cather

· Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka

· The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

· All Quiet on the Western Front,

            by Erich Maria Remarque

· Short stories by Leo Tolstoy

            and G.K. Chesterton

· Poetry by Walt Whitman

            and Emily Dickinson

· Their Eyes Were Watching God,

            by Zora Neale Hurston

· Animal Farm, by George Orwell

· The Stranger, by Albert Camus

· The Glass Menagerie,

            by Tennessee Williams

· Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton

· The Old Man and the Sea,

            by Earnest Hemingway

· One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch,

            by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

· Perelandra, by C.S. Lewis

· Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare

· "Leaf, by Niggle," by J. R. R. Tolkein

· Flannery O'Connor--short stories

· Poetry by Audre Lorde and Robert Frost

 

As you can see, we did fourteen novels, one Shakespeare play, and some assorted short stories and poems. That year I worked in the stories and poems here and there, choosing to discuss for 15-30 minutes on the same day that we were finishing up a novel. (The Shakespeare was just because we love it.)

 

The group that I taught that year was pretty advanced. If I wanted to make it less intense but still at an acceptable high school level, I would drop Romeo and Juliet and Perelandra, possibly one or two more books.

 

On your proposed list, I would drop:

 

Tom Sawyer--It's a simple book more suited to younger readers. No need to do two Twain.

Little Women--While I love this book, it's really long. Some of the others on your list will pull their weight better in terms of literary merit.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland--Simple book more suited to younger readers.

David Copperfield and Great Expectations--I adore Dickens, and these are real winners. That said, I would do just A Tale of Two Cities to save time. I consider A Tale of Two Cities to be his most skillfully written work. Plus it's shorter.

Brave New World--Horrible, poorly written book that focuses on sex. Lots and lots of references to sex. The last quarter of the book falls off a cliff entirely, and the author never finds his writing mojo again.

Fahrenheit 451--This one starts with a decent premise and an interesting first half. It devolves into long, ranting, poorly-written philosophical monologues. Hated it. Not good literature at all.

I would probably pick either 1984 or Animal Farm, not both.

The Time Machine--Eh. Not really enough literary merit here. Your other works are stronger choices.

 

Haven't read Sergeant York, Einstein, or Alas Babylon.

 

I would suggest Mere Christianity as more of a devotional. Read a chapter a day and discuss weekly. This allows you time to focus your literature time on other books.

[PeterPan]

And if I could humbly suggest, you'd take Harriet Vane's fabulous list and cut it IN HALF because you're doing WWS2 as well.  WWS2, done double pace to complete in a semester, will pretty much eat that up.  Unless of course you're planning on giving him double credits in language arts.

 

 

[Reefgazer]

No advice to offer (my oldest is 12), but I hear you about English.  If the entire world was math/science, my homeschool life would run like a well-oiled machine.  But I always save English last for planning purposes because I am never sure which end is up.  I watch all these types of threads for advice and inspiration.

I have had the normal amount of concern and worry as we stepped into highschool, but now we are here.  I'm sitting here trying to schedule out a 9th grade English Course, trying to make up course descriptions, looking at samples, researching on-line and looking at samples.  All of a sudden, I am terrified.  What in the world am I doing?  How am I going to get through this?  How in the world was all of THAT accomplished? I was a humanities girl.  I've always been confident in being able to shepherd my kids through this, and now I feel completely inadequate.

 

Math and Science seem so much more straight forward -- even History isn't giving me fits.  But English???  Literature???  I'm lost and overwhelmed by it all.  Online classes are out (for now). The time differences are just too much -- and the cost can't be absorbed at this time.  So, I'm pretty much on my own. 

 

Please look at what I'm trying to plan and tell me if this looks good for a Freshman.  This child is very bright, but a slower-more methodical reader (he reads like his dad).  He has more of a science/math bent.  

 

9th: 

 

English:  

 

Grammar -- Abeka Grammar 10 (NOT writing); Abeka Vocabulary/Poetry 10

Composition -- Writing w/Skill 2

Literature  Abeka World Literature (selections only, mostly poetry and Poe); The Great Gatsby, A Tale of Two Cities,Frankenstein, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 1984, Death of a Salesman, Little Women, Old Man and the Sea, A Doll's House, Alice's Adventure in Wonderland, Animal Farm, David Copperfield, Frankenstein, Great Expectations, The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds,  To Kill a Mockingbird, Grapes of Wrath, Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, The Hiding Place, Mere Christianity, Sergeant York, Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity, and Alas Bablylon

 

The focus is primarily on 20th century World Literature, although I know a few of these don't fall strictly into this category.  Only about 8-10 of the books I listed would require a paper or deeper study.  I will be using some Progeny Press Guides (are there others?  Yes, I will need answers...) I also plan to employ TWEM using sections as we go.  

 

History:  Modern World History (mainly 20th Century) using K12's Human Odyssey vol. 3 as a spine, Teaching Company Lectures:  20th Century Struggle with Democracy & WW2 a Military & Social History, plus Mein Kampf, The Communist Manifesto, The Great Crash, The Longest Day, All the President's Men, The War of the Atom, The Eagle and the Lion.  1 weekly paper, plus 2 longer 5 page papers at the end of each semester.  Geography is included (mostly Shephered Software, and possibly Visual Geography when I can purchase it).

 

Math:  Algebra 2/Trigonometry (Phil4 with Foerster's Algebra 2/Trigonometry & Math w/o Borders & Khan Academy)

 

Science:  Physics (Phil4 w/ high school text, Khan Academy)

 

Foreign Languages:  Russian (5 Elements w/tutor, some resources online); Italian (with family & tutor)

 

Electives: Typing (finishing up), CLE Light Units for Computer Basics & Technical Drawing, and finishing up God & the History of Art,

 

Health & PE (Health will actually be taken during the summer, Abeka), PE is done throughout the year and is a combination of competitive Swimming, Dry Land Training, & Personal Fitness at home, plus some group activities with the other homeschoolers.

 

Lastly -- here is what I'm looking toward for English in the following years (because there are obviously MORE great books that my son could read...)

 

10th -- Studying Western Civ; World Literature Studies (Including Don Quixote, The Pilgrim's Progress, Gulliver's Travels, Pride & Predjudice, more Dickens, Jane Eyre, Crime & Punishment, Anna Karenina, some Shakesspeare

11th -- American Literature (Great American Literature through the ages...I know Scarlet Letter will be included here, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Malcom X, Booker T. Washington, A Separate Peace...)

12th -- Not sure what to call it -- we'll be studying US Gov't/Constitutional Law during this year...maybe I should just continue with more great Literature from the world?  I do plan to include Lord of the Flies this year.

 

I've heard I should probably get Figuratively Speaking -- and I am looking into the possibility of some DE through one of the colleges serving the military & deployed civilians here.

 

What I'm trying to come up with, is how to best schedule the books... and course description that sounds good.  I'm pretty sure we're covering more than enough for a solid credit of English.  If there are books I should move into other years -- if it's better to focus studies on genre/author -- and I know I need to also keep a book list of all the books he reads that aren't part of his school work.

 

[LisaKinVA]

Alright...moving books into different arrangements has been a help.  As I really looked at my original list --I don't really feel it give a good feel for Modern WORLD literature from the 20th Century (too much US Lit, which could be dropped for now, and too much from the same authors...of course many of those books are books I truly loved).  My new lists for American Literature, Dystopian Literature and Fantasy Literature look really good -- but I'm sure Great Works from Western Civilization will need to be narrowed down a LOT (sigh).

 

FWIW, I did show the list below to my son (who is currently reading Hound of the Baskervilles on his own, I just discovered), he doesn't feel like it's too much, but I do have my doubts :p

 

I'm looking at subbing some of the reading for simply watching.  My goal for some of this is to provide context to the history we're learning about, and get a feel for different types of writing from around the world.  Some of the books may be lighter -- and I'm okay with that.  Sometimes using books that are easier to read make learning to recognize literary elements easier, too.  Not everything he does has to be War and Peace.

 

So going through my newly-revised list:

 

Things we will watch and discuss: I'm planning 3 lessons for each of these (watching/discussion)

 

Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak .

"Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond Rostand 

"Our Town" by Thornton Wilder

"Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller

 

Here is the hard part!  Choosing which books to put onto a READING list (essentially, read or listen to & have a short discussion about), and which to truly STUDY (break down, spend a few weeks on).  I'm leaning toward studying the six bolded selections, and I had only planned on four.  If we do more than four, I will probably need to give 2 credits in English:  English Composition and Modern World Literature.  I'm not opposed to running Literature through the summer, either (as we read and continue math throughout the summer time, anyway).  As I look through this, and really look at our goals for this course, the 2 credits -- with one full literature credit is looking better and better...because I still need a poetry component!  YIKES.

 

Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle (listen to the BBC dramatized book, watch the movie)

House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul

Escape from Slavery by Francis Bok

Children of the River by Linda Crew

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

 

Poetry...still working on this.

 

Is there something that I have "bolded" to study that I should replace with something else on this list?

 

I guess my revised plan for DS is now:

 

English Composition - 1 credit (Fall/Spring)

Modern World Literature - 1 credit (Fall/Spring/Summer)

Modern World History - 1 credit (Fall/Spring)

Algebra 2/Trigonometry - 1 credit (Fall/Spring/Summer)

Physics - 1 credit (Fall/Spring)

Typing - 1 credit (Fall/Spring)

Computer Basics - .5 Credit (Summer -- but can be pushed to next year)

Technical Drawing - .5 Credit (Summer -- but can be pushed to next year)

PE/Health - 1 Credit (Summer) 

Russian -- 3 days/week (Fall/Spring/Summer) 1 credit

Italian -- 4 days/week (Fall/Spring) 1 credit (we do this as a family usually over lunch...it's not overly formal.  We meet with a tutor 1x a week, and then practice.  The older kids and I also have a study guide we're working through. We'll be hosting a party for our Italian neighbors, landlord, and friends in the spring -- so we need to prepare!)

 

It's a packed day...so I reserve the right to back way off in January!  I'll also plan a lot of the watching/listening stuff for our trips to Northern Italy in November, Germany/Austria/Switzerland in December and the Netherlands/Denmark/Czech Republic in March.  At least, that's the current plan!

 

[butterfly113]

Alright...moving books into different arrangements has been a help.  As I really looked at my original list --I don't really feel it give a good feel for Modern WORLD literature from the 20th Century (too much US Lit, which could be dropped for now, and too much from the same authors...of course many of those books are books I truly loved).  My new lists for American Literature, Dystopian Literature and Fantasy Literature look really good -- but I'm sure Great Works from Western Civilization will need to be narrowed down a LOT (sigh).

 

FWIW, I did show the list below to my son (who is currently reading Hound of the Baskervilles on his own, I just discovered), he doesn't feel like it's too much, but I do have my doubts :p

 

I'm looking at subbing some of the reading for simply watching.  My goal for some of this is to provide context to the history we're learning about, and get a feel for different types of writing from around the world.  Some of the books may be lighter -- and I'm okay with that.  Sometimes using books that are easier to read make learning to recognize literary elements easier, too.  Not everything he does has to be War and Peace.

 

So going through my newly-revised list:

 

Things we will watch and discuss: I'm planning 3 lessons for each of these (watching/discussion)

 

Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak .

"Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond Rostand 

"Our Town" by Thornton Wilder

"Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller

 

Here is the hard part!  Choosing which books to put onto a READING list (essentially, read or listen to & have a short discussion about), and which to truly STUDY (break down, spend a few weeks on).  I'm leaning toward studying the six bolded selections, and I had only planned on four.  If we do more than four, I will probably need to give 2 credits in English:  English Composition and Modern World Literature.  I'm not opposed to running Literature through the summer, either (as we read and continue math throughout the summer time, anyway).  As I look through this, and really look at our goals for this course, the 2 credits -- with one full literature credit is looking better and better...because I still need a poetry component!  YIKES.

 

Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle (listen to the BBC dramatized book, watch the movie)

House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul

Escape from Slavery by Francis Bok

Children of the River by Linda Crew

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

 

Poetry...still working on this.

 

Is there something that I have "bolded" to study that I should replace with something else on this list?

 

I guess my revised plan for DS is now:

 

English Composition - 1 credit (Fall/Spring)

Modern World Literature - 1 credit (Fall/Spring/Summer)

Modern World History - 1 credit (Fall/Spring)

Algebra 2/Trigonometry - 1 credit (Fall/Spring/Summer)

Physics - 1 credit (Fall/Spring)

Typing - 1 credit (Fall/Spring)

Computer Basics - .5 Credit (Summer -- but can be pushed to next year)

Technical Drawing - .5 Credit (Summer -- but can be pushed to next year)

PE/Health - 1 Credit (Summer) 

Russian -- 3 days/week (Fall/Spring/Summer) 1 credit

Italian -- 4 days/week (Fall/Spring) 1 credit (we do this as a family usually over lunch...it's not overly formal.  We meet with a tutor 1x a week, and then practice.  The older kids and I also have a study guide we're working through. We'll be hosting a party for our Italian neighbors, landlord, and friends in the spring -- so we need to prepare!)

 

It's a packed day...so I reserve the right to back way off in January!  I'll also plan a lot of the watching/listening stuff for our trips to Northern Italy in November, Germany/Austria/Switzerland in December and the Netherlands/Denmark/Czech Republic in March.  At least, that's the current plan!

 

I just wanted to say you've really encouraged me... and I am feeling better over here on our end as well. I have taken my huge list of books to read and study, and revised... making a solid list of works to study, and also other books to read and discuss, and some to just enjoy. Thank you again for this thread! :hurray:

 

Also, not to hijack... but may I ask WHAT you are using for Computer Basics?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I'm another voice for cutting the reading list. I love books and put a lot of them into our school. But that's a big list.

 

I think I would concentrate on what you want to cover for the lit credit. Take all of the rest and put them into a free reading or listening pile. That pile has no obligation associated with it. So if you commute is better used for science homework or just conversation, you don't feel guilty that you are getting behind in school.

 

Also as literature I was underwhelmed by but The Time Machine and War of the Worlds. Ok but not something I decided to assign. I might do Brave New World eventually. It's not great lit but does represent important themes. Same with Fahrenheit 451.

Jekyll and Hyde and Dracula were well received here. I like Dracula because it is so unlike the current vampire as hero stories.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

What about One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich instead of one of the American works? It is short but powerful, and is world lit that isn't British.

 

Karfka's Metamorphosis or The Trial for the same reason.

[FaithManor]

Sounds good, but don't plan too hard. The best laid plans of mice and men...

I had lit and history all figured out - then DD developed specific literary interests and ended up unschooling English for 11th grade (and taking classes for 12th). I created a course description after the fact and found the common thread that tied together her literary selections.

I don't think it matters much what you read when :-)

It felt very limiting trying to stay too close to the chosen overarching theme. For example,  if my student wants to study magical realism and Garcia Marquez, or the British Romantic poets, during the year I had planned to cover "1600-1900" , I do not quite see what benefit would be obtained from insisting on staying within the confines of the plan.

I agree with this so much. I do not write course descriptions for 9th -11th grade at the time that I plan the coursework. I keep enough record of what I am doing to write them later. The reason for this is that just as Regentrude's daughter developed a unique passion, so did my kids, and I didn't want to be so tied to a plan, that there was no room to explore. It was easier to LATER develop a course description around what was accomplished so long as a work ethic was maintained that made it high school level work, worthy of high school credit, challenging the student. In the end, Medieval Lit for my one boy became so important that I let him run with it, and a lot of it was related to wars. That's okay. Believe me, no college admin is pouring over your course descriptions questioning every little thing about them. They are going to get nothing more than a glance to see that what was described seemed to be worthy of credit, and they'll move on to other aspects of the college application. Plus, I always - even if it's the common app - do them on paper, not online, and mail additional stuff, so they end up seeing a reading list, text list, etc. It's impressive, and especially when you consider that in all but the most tippy top high schools in the nation, the kids are not reading that many novels, that much primary source material, doing very much writing, nor developing a passion which is EXACTLY what a lot of the more selective colleges want to see.

 

Allow yourself enough breathing room for him to enjoy his high school years. This is why we homeschool...to allow their personalities and talents to emerge, to gain confidence in who they are, to become unique individuals. We are essentially trying to replicate what some foreign schools have...a track system that allows students to specialize and exhibit their natural talents and interests. So be flexible. Find some time to enjoy this journey with him.

[Harriet Vane]

 

So going through my newly-revised list:

 

Things we will watch and discuss: I'm planning 3 lessons for each of these (watching/discussion)

 

Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak .

"Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond Rostand 

"Our Town" by Thornton Wilder

"Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller

 

Here is the hard part!  Choosing which books to put onto a READING list (essentially, read or listen to & have a short discussion about), and which to truly STUDY (break down, spend a few weeks on).  I'm leaning toward studying the six bolded selections, and I had only planned on four.  If we do more than four, I will probably need to give 2 credits in English:  English Composition and Modern World Literature.  I'm not opposed to running Literature through the summer, either (as we read and continue math throughout the summer time, anyway).  As I look through this, and really look at our goals for this course, the 2 credits -- with one full literature credit is looking better and better...because I still need a poetry component!  YIKES.

 

Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Old Man and the Sea, by Ernest Hemingway

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Cry, the Beloved Country, by Alan Paton

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle (listen to the BBC dramatized book, watch the movie)

House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul

Escape from Slavery by Francis Bok

Children of the River by Linda Crew

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

 

Poetry...still working on this.

 

Is there something that I have "bolded" to study that I should replace with something else on this list?

 

 

 

Your new plan sounds good.

 

I love your new list, with one exception. I would not formally study The Call of the Wild. It's a good book and worth reading, but not weighty enough to merit real attention, imho.

 

I would substitute either Metamorphosis or Their Eyes Were Watching God. Metamorphosis a is classic of modern fiction; it's short; and it's not American. Tons of symbolism and other lit stuff there. It's a heavyweight that won't take much time.

 

I really love Their Eyes Were Watching God specifically because it represents the African-American story and people in way that is both honest and beautiful. It doesn't mince on the more negative aspects of the culture, but it definitely celebrates what is beautiful about this people group. Much of African-American literature focuses on the hardships; this book is honest about hardships, about negative aspects of African-Americans, and most importantly honestly and overwhelming enjoys the wonderful aspects of being African-American.

 

I tend to think that Americans should read something from the African-American culture at some point. Reading this book the same year that you do Cry the Beloved Country (another EXCELLENT book) is great because you see both the Americans of African descent but also hear the true African voice. Both books are exceedingly well written and well worth studying.

[LisaKinVA]

I just wanted to say you've really encouraged me... and I am feeling better over here on our end as well. I have taken my huge list of books to read and study, and revised... making a solid list of works to study, and also other books to read and discuss, and some to just enjoy. Thank you again for this thread! :hurray:

 

Also, not to hijack... but may I ask WHAT you are using for Computer Basics?

 

Anytime...haha!  My head is still spinning a bit.  We are planning to use CLE's Light Unit based Computer Basics Course...of course DH is going to be leading that one.  I believe his plan is to teach oldest DS to build his own computer (and repair).  

 

I'm another voice for cutting the reading list. I love books and put a lot of them into our school. But that's a big list.

 

I think I would concentrate on what you want to cover for the lit credit. Take all of the rest and put them into a free reading or listening pile. That pile has no obligation associated with it. So if you commute is better used for science homework or just conversation, you don't feel guilty that you are getting behind in school.

 

Also as literature I was underwhelmed by but The Time Machine and War of the Worlds. Ok but not something I decided to assign. I might do Brave New World eventually. It's not great lit but does represent important themes. Same with Fahrenheit 451.

Jekyll and Hyde and Dracula were well received here. I like Dracula because it is so unlike the current vampire as hero stories.

 

We'll only be studying the ones in Bold...the others are on a reading list.  If we don't get to them, it's not a huge deal.  He told me that he's gotten a lot more interested in classic literature in the past year or so (I haven't pushed it...we've only done the first 3 Abeka books for grades 7-9...apparently not pushing tons of lit at him had my 'hoped for' desire of whetting his appetite.  He's been reading classics on my kindle without my knowledge.  Time Machine, War of the Worlds are things he wants to read.  Brave New World is off until maybe senior year.  Jekyll and Hyde and Dracula are on next year's list, as I'm trying to concentrate on 20th century literature.

 

 

What about One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich instead of one of the American works? It is short but powerful, and is world lit that isn't British.

 

Karfka's Metamorphosis or The Trial for the same reason.

I did make these changes :D

 

I agree with this so much. I do not write course descriptions for 9th -11th grade at the time that I plan the coursework. I keep enough record of what I am doing to write them later. The reason for this is that just as Regentrude's daughter developed a unique passion, so did my kids, and I didn't want to be so tied to a plan, that there was no room to explore. It was easier to LATER develop a course description around what was accomplished so long as a work ethic was maintained that made it high school level work, worthy of high school credit, challenging the student. In the end, Medieval Lit for my one boy became so important that I let him run with it, and a lot of it was related to wars. That's okay. Believe me, no college admin is pouring over your course descriptions questioning every little thing about them. They are going to get nothing more than a glance to see that what was described seemed to be worthy of credit, and they'll move on to other aspects of the college application. Plus, I always - even if it's the common app - do them on paper, not online, and mail additional stuff, so they end up seeing a reading list, text list, etc. It's impressive, and especially when you consider that in all but the most tippy top high schools in the nation, the kids are not reading that many novels, that much primary source material, doing very much writing, nor developing a passion which is EXACTLY what a lot of the more selective colleges want to see.

 

Allow yourself enough breathing room for him to enjoy his high school years. This is why we homeschool...to allow their personalities and talents to emerge, to gain confidence in who they are, to become unique individuals. We are essentially trying to replicate what some foreign schools have...a track system that allows students to specialize and exhibit their natural talents and interests. So be flexible. Find some time to enjoy this journey with him.

 

My plans give me a direction -- been around the best laid plans too much to become completely trapped by them.  In fact, this WHOLE process is changing my original plan for this year.  And I already know that DD(12) and DS (11)  course directions for 7-12 will be different.  DS likes fantasy and dystopian literature -- so I'm planning those for him.  He's changing a lot right now...except for his love of LEGO...that is still firmly entrenched (and why we're planning on swinging through Denmark after championships in the spring)

 

 

Your new plan sounds good.

 

I love your new list, with one exception. I would not formally study The Call of the Wild. It's a good book and worth reading, but not weighty enough to merit real attention, imho.

 

I would substitute either Metamorphosis or Their Eyes Were Watching God. Metamorphosis a is classic of modern fiction; it's short; and it's not American. Tons of symbolism and other lit stuff there. It's a heavyweight that won't take much time.

 

I really love Their Eyes Were Watching God specifically because it represents the African-American story and people in way that is both honest and beautiful. It doesn't mince on the more negative aspects of the culture, but it definitely celebrates what is beautiful about this people group. Much of African-American literature focuses on the hardships; this book is honest about hardships, about negative aspects of African-Americans, and most importantly honestly and overwhelming enjoys the wonderful aspects of being African-American.

 

I tend to think that Americans should read something from the African-American culture at some point. Reading this book the same year that you do Cry the Beloved Country (another EXCELLENT book) is great because you see both the Americans of African descent but also hear the true African voice. Both books are exceedingly well written and well worth studying.

 

Okay...you convinced me.  I added these two and took off Call of the Wild.  I think he's really going to have a great year.  He's excited about the plans...and so am I.

[butterfly113]

Anytime...haha!  My head is still spinning a bit.  We are planning to use CLE's Light Unit based Computer Basics Course...of course DH is going to be leading that one.  I believe his plan is to teach oldest DS to build his own computer (and repair).  

Thanks for sharing!

here's to a great year! :hurray:  :cheers2:  :thumbup1:

[Penguin]

Lisa, I know you are looking to trim, not add...but could you turn the Italian into a half credit? It seems a shame not to get some credit for the effort.

 

My son is only in 8th, but I have designed a 1/2 credit of Danish (the local language) for him to go along with his full credit of Latin. I will keep that same plan for 9th.